I Am Not A Demon
by ArmoredSoul
Summary: Post-Film. Movie Night proves to be rather traumatic for a certain two-faced police officer. Lucy(Wildstyle)/Emmet, GCBC whump. Tissues reccommended.


No one really knew who started the whole Movie Night idea.  
It was one of those things that somebody blurted out after a long day of helping Rebuild the city, tired and sore but not yet so much so as to wish for bed. Benny had gotten the bright idea to make it one of those rotational things, so no one person's home was solely designated The Movie Place (even if Wildstyle's studio had the absolute best sound system).

This time around, they'd all wound up in Emmet's little apartment, clamoring for favorite seats on the double decker couch so they could all see the big flat screen Batman had donated to the cause (mostly because the little construction worker had gone so googly eyed over his home theater system in the BatCave it seemed a crime not to do something about it). Emmet got the prime seat of middle-bottom, since it was his home, and Wildstyle got second-best tucked under his arm to the right, while Benny half-hovered over the upper-left corner, playing patti-cake with Unikitty as the Ghost of Vitruvius puttered around in the kitchen in search of butter for the popcorn Wildstyle was (supposed to be) helping him make. Metalbeard couldn't make it this time around, unable to fit in Emmet's apartment and wishing to take a night out with his shipmates, while Batman was -well- Batman. If he was going to show up, the window in the bedroom had been left open for his 'secret' entrance.

"So, what're we going to watch this time guys?"  
Unikitty perked up immediately, bouncing eagerly in her seat.  
"Oh! Oh! Something with fairies and sparkles and candy and-!"  
Wildstyle huffed, rolling her eyes.  
"We watched Equestria Girls the last time we were at your palace, Unikitty, I've had enough cutesy stuff to last me for weeks yet."  
The magical cat gave a disappointed 'aww' but didn't seem all that put out, since Benny jumped into the conversation with a gleeful squeal.  
"Ooooo! There's that new space movie that came out, that one that got nominated for that big awards show! We could watch that!"  
"Afraid not my boy."  
Vitruvius came floating into the room, settling himself on a nearby armchair with a large bowl of buttery (if slightly burnt) popcorn in his lap.  
"It's not out on video yet, and I don't think Emmet has Netflix."  
The construction worker gave a soft laugh.  
"Yeah, sorry, buddy. I've just got my DVD shelf."  
He pointed over next to the TV set up, where the short bookshelf that used to hold all of his Instructions had been repurposed to house all of the movies he'd collected over the past several months. Most of the cases were pretty battered, having been bought up from secondhand stores and garage sales, but there were some newer titles shining softly in the midst of the worn old copies. Wildstyle quirked a brow, and gently slid out from under her boyfriend's arm to check out the collection. Her brow arched further as she started to flip through a few of them, looking back over her shoulder at the group.  
"Emmet, how many of these have you watched?"  
"Uh, not many just yet. A lot of them I had to get cleaned up first, they were all buried in people's basements and stuff before they sold them to the secondhand stores."  
The construction worker got to his feet, trundling over to look over his girlfriend's shoulder as she flipped through the various video cases, a smile growing across her face.  
"Is there something important about them, or…?"  
"Emmet, you found all of the classics!"  
Vitruvius perked up, a brow quirking while Emmet looked on in confusion.  
"What sort of classics?"  
Wildstyle grabbed up a couple of the battered cases, grinning as she showed off the worn covers to the others.  
"Mary Shelly's Dr. Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula, to name a few! Look at all these!  
She turned back to the movie shelf, setting the first two video aside to continue looking.  
"An American Werewolf In London, Titanic, omigosh you found Braveheart?!"  
"1981 A Space Oddessy! Woohoo!"  
Benny had floated in overheard, and hovered upside down as he started picking through the shelf as well.  
"Oh, oh! The Hunt for Red October! Aw-haw-some!"  
"Is that Pretty Woman? I love Pretty Woman!"  
Unikitty squealed with glee as she came in from behind Emmet to start picking through the bookcase of movies as well, and the construction worker found himself smiling as he watched his friends calmoring over his apparently brilliant movie collection. He'd really just grabbed up the ones that looked the most interesting to him, either from the blurbs on the back or the cover illustrations, though a couple he'd picked out due to nostalgia, remembering a few snippets from films he'd seen in his youth before President Business had reordered things with his Instructions.

"What's this about?"  
Emmet glanced over to Unikitty, how was frowning at a particularly battered case, the film title having worn off so badly it had had to be written back on with a marker. The construction worker smiled a little sheepishly, color coming to his face in a nervous blush.  
"Uh, well, that's a musical version of a book my dad read to me once."  
"Ooooh! I love musicals! They're so happy!"  
"Well, maybe yours are, but this one…"  
Emmet reached over to take the film, very careful of the worn out cover.  
"It's the story of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde."  
Benny blinked, looking stunned a moment before he dropped the film he'd been looking at to float over, looking over Emmet's shoulder while Wildstyle turned to look.  
"Ah… Wha-Which one is it? I- I mean, there's a couple muscial versions of the story, it's one of those tales people tell o-over and over and over again-!"  
"I don't actually know. I haven't watched it yet. But the guy I got it from said it was the best version he'd ever seen. He almost didn't want to give it up, I had to help rebiuld his son's treehouse before he'd even take my money."  
Benny's eyes widened, and everyone exchanged a glance before looking back to the worn out cover. Practically in unison, they all made a desicion.  
"That one."  
"It sounds special!"  
"We totally have to see that now."  
Emmet laughed, shaking his head at everyone's grin.  
"Okay! Okay, sure, we can watch it. Lemme get the DVD player set up, sometimes the wires are kinda fiddly."  
He handed the film off to Wildstyle, letting her be responsible for it while he ducked into the TV cabinet to check all the wires.

It didn't take long to sort things out, and soon, everyone was settled down in their chosen spots with cups full of popcorn or a favored snack (Benny gleefully gobbled up several flavors of astronaut icecream) and the freshly dusted disc as just spinning up in the player when there was a knock at the door. A quickly exchanged glance, and Emmet got up from his seat, scampering off to the door.  
"Be right there!"  
No response, but he wasn't expecting any, especialyl if the visitor was who he thought it was. The construction worker popped open his door, and smiled warmly at the person on the other side.  
"Bad Cop! I was hoping you'd make it!"  
A dull grunt was the response to his chipper greeting, the police officer looking to be wobbling on the brink of exhaustion, even going so far as to steady himself on the doorframe. Emmet quickly sidled out of the way, letting the cop shuffle inside.  
"We've already picked out a movie, and Vitruvius made way too much popcorn again, so there's plenty to go around if you want any."  
The cop just shrugged, and Emmet closed the door behind the very tired officer.  
"You know, you don't have to come to these things, everybody understands you've got a tough job. You could've just got home and-"  
"No."  
Bad Cop growled out the word, hands flexing into loose fists as he seemed to muster himself. And then there was a quiet clatter as he switched to the scribbled on face of Good Cop. The black ink face mustered up a smile, but even that seemed tired.  
"Nah, we wanted t'come. It's nice havin' some place else t'go, y'know?"  
Emmet smiled, nodding as he started towards the living room.  
"Yeah, end of the day's always better with friends."  
The tired cop smiled a little wider, and the pair of them made their way back into the living room where the movie was only just starting.

Benny looked up from his ice cream, beaming down towards the cop and waving enthusiastically, though he didn't start babbling as he usuallly would have. He had his mouth full, thanks to Unikitty constantly refilling his cup with more astronaut ice cream. Everyone had learned the hard way that making it through a movie with Benny neccesitated a means to keep his mouth otherwise occupied.  
Unikitty herself smiled down from her perch, and put a paw to her lips before gesturing to the screen. Good Cop nodded, understanding her meaning. It was one of the few times the magical cat actually followed a rule, mostly because she enjoyed movies almost more than rainbows (her words). Both Virtuvius and Wildstyle were apparently transfixed by the film, though how the blind (and dead) man could follow the plot without being able to see what was going on was a mystery.  
Emmet grabbed a cup of popcorn, handing it to the officer and ushering him over to the last available seat on the bottom of the couch, figuring he'd appreciate not having to climb a ladder when so obviously worn out by the day. It was a kind gesture that got a nod of thanks from the cop, and he sat down, slumping into the soft cushions with a little sigh. As he settled in, Emmet tucked himself back into his own spot, looping around his girlfriend's shoulders.  
"What'd I miss?"  
"Mmm, not much. Just the doctor's friends talking about his work. Some kind of early neuroscientist or something."  
"Huh. Cool."  
Both of them fell quiet as the first song kicked up, and Emmet quickly found himself becoming absorbed in the story he only barely remembered fragments of.

About ten minutes into the film, the construction worker felt something heavy and warm slump against him opposite his girlfriend, and he looked over to see the black and white top of Good Cop's helmet, the officer snoring softly. Stifling a soft laugh, Emmet gently took the cup of popcorn from Good Cop's limp grasp, noting it was only about half full before setting it down on the coffee table next to the remote.  
Really, the guy ran himself ragged, helping with the Rebuilding on top of his normal job as Police Chief, it was only because they'd managed to notify the man's parents that he wasn't working 24/7, the threat of their disappointment ample incentive to usher him home to rest.  
Well, that, and Benny's sad puppy eyes after Bad Cop yelled at him after a particualrly stressful day had made the officer feel so guilty he'd taken the next two days off to build spaceships with the somewhat ditzy astronaut.

Speaking of, there was a muffled little giggle from above, and Emmet looked up to see both Benny and Unikitty looking down towards the snoozing cop, the magical cat giving a soft 'awww' as Good Cop shuffled a bit in place and Emmet found his arm being used as a stand-in teddy. And to think, only a few months ago, they'd practically been at each other's throats!  
The construction worker gave a soft sigh, settling back in his seat and giving his girlfriend a smile before turning his attention back to the story playing out in song upon the screen before them.

As Act One wrapped up, the Bishop of Basingstoke a burning corpse and Edward Hyde cackling madly as the curtains drew closed behind him for the Intermission, Emmet felt more than heard a low groan muffled against his arm, and he turned just in time to see Bad Cop click into place, the officer pushing himself up to sit.  
"…Did I fall asleep?"  
"Yeah, but it's okay, you were really super tired and it's not like we can't watch it again later."  
Bad Cop frowned, but he didn't seem all that perturbed as he watched the others all scampering off to the restroom and kitchen.  
"What are you lot watching, anyway?"  
"Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde: A Gothic Musical Thriller."  
The officer seemed to stiffen, but Emmet didn't notice, gesturing off towards his DVD collection.  
"I found a bunch of older films while working around town, and Lucy says a lot of them are super classics, and everybody thought this would be a good one to start with, cause it's got muscial stuff in it that Benny and Unikitty like and Lucy seems to like that it's got a lot of action and drama. I think it's pretty good, though I don't remember there being so many people dying in the book…"  
He trailed off, thinking a moment before he shrugged.  
"Of course, I had it read to me when I was a little kid and I barely remember any of it, so… Yeah."  
"Hnh."  
Emmet glanced over to Bad Cop, wondering at his surprisingly tacit response, but the officer was moving to stand before he could ask about it, striding off towards the kitchen. He heard Benny burst out giggling and shook his head, knowing the 1980's spaceman would undoubtedly try grabbing Bad Cop in a hug the officer would give only a token resistance to. Or maybe none, considering he still seemed a bit groggy from his nap.  
The construction worker got up to use the restroom, giving Wildstyle a kiss as he caught her coming out, and before long, the lot of them were all clambering back into the living room to take their places for Act Two. Well, all of them except Bad Cop.  
"Cop, the second act is starting!"  
"Making a sandwich!"  
"Oh! Okay, cool! Come in when you're done!"  
There was a low grumble, but Emmet decided to leave the officer be. After all, it wasn't likely that the cop had grabbed any dinner before coming over, he was happy to let the man raid his fridge.

And then the curtain was being pulled open and Utterson and Sir Danvers were back on stage, and he forgot about the police officer as he grew engrossed with the story all over again.

It wasn't until the third reprise of Facade that Emmet realized that Bad Cop had not yet returned to the living room, and as the song wrapped up, he quietly excused himself and slipped out of the room in search of the wayward officer. He was more than a little surprised to find that the cop was not in the kitchen, a half eaten sandwich left abandoned on the counter next to a scribbled over crossword and a broken pencil, but as he started to search further, he realized he could hear some one rummaging around in the direction of his bedroom. Frowning in confusion, the construction worker headed further into his home.  
His apartment was not large, so it didn't take long to find the source of the rummaging, finding the police officer grumbling to himself as he dug through Emmet's desk, obviously looking for something.  
"Hey."  
Bad Cop visibly stiffened, jerking around to face Emmet, and the construction worker saw a flash of emotion cross the officer's face before the man's features were schooled into his usual scowl.  
"Where the heck d'you keep your pencil sharpener?"  
"Oh! It's in the bottom of my pencil jar."  
Emmet stepped up to his wobbly little desk, picking up a somewhat dusty Mason jar and upending it in his hand. A few pencils tumbled out, followed shortly by a thick pink eraser and a little metal sharpener. He quickly put the pencils and eraser back, turning to hand over the sharpener.  
"Here you go!"  
Bad Cop seemed frozen a moment, but he eventually took the sharpener with a nod.  
"Thank you."  
Emmet smiled.  
"Ah, it's no problem. Why're you doing the crossword, though? You can still watch the rest of the movie with us, it doesn't matter that you missed the first half of it."  
The officer's face seemed to twitch awkwardly, like he was about to switch but didn't want to, then he shook his head.  
"No, thank you."  
Face falling, Emmet's brow furrowed in confusion. Sure, Bad Cop was a proper sort (he didn't even swear), but he wasn't usually so… Polite. Or quiet. Good Cop was more of one for such pleasantries, but even he wasn't much of a tacit person. In fact, Good Cop in a really good mood had a motor mouth to rival Benny, and Bad Cop they had learned quite liked telling stories of particularly exciting missions.  
The police officer was already stepping out of the room, and the construction worker had to rush to catch up, the taller man's long legs carrying him more swiftly down the hall.  
"H-Hey, wait a minute! Bad Cop!"  
He caught the officer's arm, and felt tight corded muscles go tense under the thick leather jacket, the pencil sharpener abruptly clenched tight in a gloved fist. For a split second, he thought maybe he might get lashed out at, and cringed. But there was a deep inhale, and the tension abated, if only slightly.  
"What."  
Emmet glanced towards the living room, where he could hear Anthony Warlow lifting his voice to personify Edward Hyde, then up to those mirrored aviators.  
"Uhm… Uh, a-are you okay?"  
There was a long moment of silence, Bad Cop still and expressionless, before he gave a huff and nodded.  
"Fine. Long day."  
"Yeah, I figured, I mean, you did kinda pass out on me."  
He made the mention as an attempt at humor, knowing the Irishman was one to fluster rather easily, but the expected little blush never rose, and the joke fell flat.  
"I just- You don't even like crosswords."  
"…And?"  
"Don't you wanna hang out with us? You can bring your sandwich, I eat on the couch all the time, it's totally cool-!"  
"Emmet."  
Bad Cop frowned down at the shorter man.  
"Thank you, but no."  
Without another word, the officer slid loose from the grip on his arm, striding down the hall and into the kitchen before the construction worker could summon up the courage to speak further. Emmet shuffled his feet, wondering what in the world he was missing that seemed to be bothering his friend so much, but eventually figured that if it was really important, Bad Cop would talk when he was ready. Heaving a sigh, he trundled off back into the living room, pausing by the kitchen to see the police officer grumbling to himself again as he sharpened the broken pencil over the garbage can before moving onwards.

Wildstyle glanced up as he re-entered the room, swinging her legs down so he could resume his seat, and she quirked a brow at him in askance.  
"Where's Cop?"  
"Finishing his sandwich and doing a crossword. I don't think he'll be joining us for a while yet."  
"Hmmph. Shame. Things are starting to get really intense."  
"Oh?"  
Emmet settled back in his seat as he half-listened to his girlfriend catch him up on the bits he missed while watching as Jekyl's romantic interest sang of how she imagined life might be like with her beloved. And then Hyde appeared, and everyone watching gasped in horror as beautiful Lucy was stabbed again and again before having her throat slashed open, the murderer laughing as he fled the scene, blood on his hands still when Jekyl regained control.  
They all leaned in closer, watching with rapt attention as Jekyl mourned, gazing over his life's work and recalling all the pain that it had caused. Wildstyle gasped softly as Hyde made his presence known, the song growing violent in its intensity as Jekyl and Hyde warred with each other over their shared body, the doctor screaming vengeance for all the evils his other half had committed while the killer vowed to never relinquish the life he had claimed as his own.  
/And I know that, now and forever! They'll never be able to separate Jekyl from Hyde!/

Something crashed in the kitchen, and everyone jumped at the sudden sound.  
Emmet shared a startled glance with Wildstyle, then they were all on their feet, scrambling towards the kitchen as Jekyl and Hyde battled behind them on the screen. Benny got there first, unhindered by the need to follow gravity's rules, and he stilled in the doorway, hovering upside down on the ceiling as the others came clustering in behind him.  
Bad Cop stood at the sink, his back to them as he gripped at the counter with both hands, his entire body hunched over and tense. The plate he'd used for his sandwich lay shattered into piece at his feet, shards of red and white ceramic sticking out of the linoleum tile.  
A dull metallic screech jerked everyone to attention, and Emmet hopped over Unikitty to scramble towards the cop before his robotic left hand could tear a hole into the sink, the others shortly behind him.

"Bad Cop! Bad Cop, stop it, you're gonna break it!"  
Emmet grabbed at the officer's wrist, tugging to try and pull him loose, only to still as something plinked softly into the sink. He stared a moment, not sure what to think, then looked up to the policeman's face, and felt his blood run cold.  
While it was still Bad Cop, it was a version of Bad Cop none of them had ever seen before, his face pale and bloodless, jaw clenched so tight it audibly creaked. And there were tears. Real honest-to-the-Man-Upstairs tears trickling from behind those mirrored aviators.  
"…Cop?"  
The Irishman swallowed, and Emmet felt him shudder through his grip on the man's wrist as that helmeted head leaned forward, facing the ground.  
"…'m not him…"  
Befuddled, Emmet turned to look towards his girlfriend, but she only shrugged, just as clueless as he was. Vitruvius seemed to have vanished (or had fallen asleep in the armchair again), so he couldn't ask the wiseman…  
Wait, Bad Cop was still talking.  
"…'m not h-him, I- I won't, I'm not that-"  
He choked, another shudder running through his broad frame.  
"M-Monster-!"  
Emmet heard the sink squeal in protest, but found he couldn't care about the state of his appliances when one of the strongest, most stalwart and loyal people he knew trembled under his hand, barely able to draw breath for the strangling quality of the tears streaming down his face and pattering like rain into the sink.

/Damn you, Hyde! Leave me free!/  
/Can't you see? You are me!/  
Hang on.  
/NO! Deep inside-!/  
/I am you! You are Hyde!/  
Was it-?  
/No, never!/  
/Yes, forever!/  
"Somebody turn that off!"  
Unikitty stared, bewildered and uncomprehending, but Benny's eyes widened, horror spreading across his face as realization dawned, and Wildstyle bolted for the living room as fast as her feet could carry her.  
/Damn you, Hyde! Take all your evil deeds and rot in HELL!/  
/I'll see you there, Jekyl!/  
There was a dull 'bwoop' as the TV was shut off, the song cutting out over Jekyl's final scream, and Benny was rushing across the ceiling, leaving Unikitty sitting stunned in the doorway as the astronaut dropped down to occupy Bad Cop's empty side. Just in time, too, as the Irishman's emotionally overwrought body seemed it prudent to give up all semblance of stability, his knees cutting out from under him.  
If not for Emmet and Benny, he would have clocked his head quite solidly on the countertop, maybe even knocked himself out. But instead, two pairs of strong arms caught him round his middle, gently lowering him to the floor.

He was still muttering to himself, barely coherent sentences fragmented by small aborted gasps that were trying to become sobs, and Benny looked to Emmet before scooting in and hugging the police officer close, spacesuit crinkling against soft worn leather. There was a moment's stillness, as no one dared breath, and then Bad Cop slumped limply into the embrace, words lost as he broke down, shaking all over as he wept.  
Wildstyle came scrambling back into the kitchen as Benny drew the police officer's limp body around, tucking that helmeted head under his own helmet covered chin so the worst of the tears could be muffled in his blue spacesuit. She looked from them to her boyfriend, and saw the same quiet horror in his eyes as she felt twisting her insides.  
All of them knew that GCBC had dealt with a great deal of trauma in his life, one didn't end up with a condition like his without something having caused it, but he'd learned to deal with it so well that it was easy to forget that the man had been incredibly mistreated in his past, his employment under Lord-President Business only the latest in a long string of awful things. He had triggers, little personal ticks and a few slightly odd habits, but he channeled them so well-!  
And then there were days like this, when he was blindsided by something none of them knew about, that they could do nothing about until it was too late.

Emmet reached over, giving Bad Cop's shoulder a hopefully comforting squeeze before moving to stand, letting Benny use his bulk to help make the officer feel safer while he headed over to his girlfriend. Wildstyle gave him a quick kiss and let him hug her tight as she hugged back, comforting him as much as he comforted her. Only when the construction worker heaved a sigh did she loosen up, and they backed off from one another, exchanging weary looks before leaving the kitchen for the dining room.  
Picking up the movie's cover from the table, Emmet took a pen from his pocket to make a notation at the bottom.  
"Warning: Do not watch with GCBC. Extreme trigger."  
"Think we should try and ask why, or…?"  
Emmet shook his head, tossing the case back down on the table.  
"If he wants to talk about it, he will on his own time. Right now, he just needs us to be there for him."  
Wildstyle nodded.  
"I'll start making us all some hot chocolate."


End file.
